Archives for April 2016

Skechers recently upped their game by putting GoGa Mat insole technology into their sneakers. I’m really happy about this because I was not a fan of their memory foam insole shoes. Memory foam was very comfortable to me, and my socks felt slippery inside the shoes. Based on my fantastic experience wearing the original Go Walk sneakers (I just bough another pair!), as well as the original Go Fit shoes, I did not buy into the upgrade to memory foam. No sir. No thanks.

Skechers shoes containing GoGa Mat insole technology make you feel as if you are walking on a high-end yoga mat: very comfortable and relaxing for the foot. My feet were instantly happy inside the sneakers and, having walk some miles in GoGa Mat shoe’s already, they are definitely good for a long day of being on your feet.

I give GoGa Mat shoes a YUM rating.

However, you will still need to find the style of GoGa Mat shoes that you like. The particular shoes you see pictured I ended up returning because I didn’t like the actual style. Next time you pass the Skechers store, go inside and try on some GoGat shoes in a style that tickles your footsies, or explore GoGa Mat shoes online.

This is the dang cat. Kitty is very mean and will scratch anybody to shreds in a hot second.

I’m convinced there is not only one, but several million evil bones growing in this feline’s body. Nevertheless, she is my Kitty and I love her. It’s like I have a case of Stockholm Syndrome or something. Ugggh!

Recently we noticed Kitty had some icky, thick gook oozing from her eyes. I felt bad because we had been away on a trip, and the day we got home is when we noticed her eye infection. I’m certain she was miserable and wanted to claw at me over the matter.

I didn’t panic, though. I knew I wouldn’t have to call a vet, and was confident I could fix up Kitty in a jiffy. The same as I did when Grace had pink eye several times, I went straight for my colloidal silver.

I have experience with various brands of colloidal silver, including even more than what’s pictured here. I’ve found the results to be effective no matter which reputable brand is chosen. I’ve used 10-20ppm varieties and don’t find it necessary to use anything overpowering, like 500ppm. That’s just crazy. For ear and eye infections there is never a question in my mind of if the silver will work. I know darn well it well.

CAT EYE INFECTION TREATMENT

1. First tried my colloidal gel on Kitty. I figured would be easier to administer to the cat if I just slathered it on the eye, but that method was a bit clumsy. The gel only clumped onto her hair with barely any of it getting into her eye.

2. Next I filled the cap of the liquid silver bottle with approximately 4 drops of silver. Matthew held Kitty down while I poured in into her eye. Be ready for your cat to go completely batshit crazy when you do this. The poor feline has no idea what’s going on to begin with, and the silver does sting for a quick second.

3. Typically with a human, I administer colloidal silver 2-3 times a day until the infection clears, then continue to administer 1x per day for an extra 2 days (this is important to keep the infection from coming back). But with Kitty I only did it 1x a day for 3 days because I felt she would get weary from all the trauma of us giving her the medicine. The results were fantastic. No vet required.

Colloidal silver will not harm your cat, and I’ve come across zero reports of it harming other animals. It’s a good idea to keep colloidal silver in your home for situations like this, as well as for treating cuts and burns. Read my full write up on Colloidal Silver Facts, Benefits and Risks to learn why silver is a powerful natural antibiotic you need to keep around. I even pack a small bottle whenever I’m traveling.

What do you think of Kitty’s happy healing? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Yup. I took my tatas on a field trip to Victoria’s Secret. If my boobies still had some natural perk to them, I’m sure they would’ve cheered me on by boing-ing all over. Now they just kinda lay flat against my body like a day-old pancake. I actually had no idea about Matthew’s take on women’s lingerie until after I had made my cleavage-enhancing purchases. I think his opinion is neither good or bad. It just represents the reality of what most men likely think about it.

Watch The Video

Sure, you can get a bra anywhere, but my going the fancier Victoria’s Secret route had nothing to do with pleasing man. Rather, it had everything to do with this…

Parenting 4 kids ain’t easy. Somehow, during the course of all my mothering, I lost myself. It was a slow process of unintentional self-abandonment; a bunch of little things that added up, like not tweezing my brows anymore and shaving my legs less often. But at least the male Sasquatches were impressed (or is that Sasquatchi for plural?).

My wardrobe choices suffered as well. The once fashionable Josie was reduced to a woman who had holes in the bum of her loungy pants. That’s totally fine for couch-assing around the house, but those pants saw way too many trips to the grocery store before I realized the holes were even there.

Matthew has never been okay with this. He’s always encouraged me to take time for myself and treat myself well, yet I continued to throw my body onto the proverbial sword of self sacrifice for the good of my family: either I take care of myself or take care of family. There’s got to be a choice.

“You can’t do both, Josie. It’s too tiresome. It has to be one or the other.”

That was my mindset, so I dedicated my best energies to taking care of everything I loved and held dear, while myself as a priority was put in a choke hold and kicked to the way side. Way-way-wayyy to the side.

Although I’ve always managed to squeeze in 30 minutes of workout time in the morning to stay fit, everything else about my outward appearance mostly suffered. Despite my genuine happy-go-lucky nature, I’ve had my share of bad days and meltdowns.

The process of rediscovering myself was slow as well, yet I’m finally to the point where I no longer feel guilty for saying “no” when people are demanding more than I can give, or to even (temporarily) shut everything out so I can have a moment for me.

I schedule time for hair and nails (even if I have to do it myself), and I started wearing makeup again, too — but not because I need to; it just makes me feel good. (I use Bare Minerals, because their products are safer for our skin.)

And then last week, after an 8-year hiatus from shopping at Victoria’s Secret, I went back. I finally went baaaaack. As I walked through the mall and began to pass the store, I felt myself being drawn in, so I allowed the magnetism of Victoria’s Secret to have it’s way with me. After so many years of fighting the urge with excuses on why I didn’t need to any fancy lady-things, I went inside the store. The Target bra I was wearing was not pleased with this decision.

With my Republic of Tea in hand, and armed with my camera to capture a Victoria-bosom selfie, I documented a precious moment of making myself a priority. Did I need Victoria’s Secret to feel “worth it”. Nope. But it sure doesn’t hurt that the girls who helped me at the store (thank you Maggie and Jasmine!) made me feel like the center of the world. They made me feel like a queen!

And the bras…oh my goodness, the bras! They are the absolute best. Now that my tatas have gone back to being spoiled and pampered by Victoria’s Secret, I won’t have it any other way.

You should take your boobies on a field trip to Victoria’s Secret, too. Yeah, yeah. I know you can buy a bra anywhere, but I’m not trying to hear the same excuses I used to tell myself. Go in there and at least try on a bra. It promise you will feel like a gazillion dollar. But if not Victoria’s Secret, then do something else nice for yourself. Make sure it’s something absurdly unnecessary, yet totally wonderful with the one and only goal of pampering YOU. Why? Because you deserve it.

The days are getting warmer and it’s time to get outdoors. Soon you’ll be chasing the ice cream man around the block with the hope that your flip flop doesn’t fly off in the street. Or does that only happen to me? Another shoe of mine once flew off as I ran across a street. It was the heeled slip-on kind of shoe. My death seemed imminent as I crossed that frightful road. Yet here I am today… writing about it. I am alive. But that shoe? Not so much. It was flattened by a Honda Accord.

Let that be a lesson to you to seek better adventures that don’t involve high traffic mayhem. Enjoying the perfect outdoor family adventure in your shoes, flip flops or even your bare feet doesn’t have to mean complicated planning, and it doesn’t have to take you far from home. The simplest of pleasures can be the absolute best when it comes to having fun and making lasting memories with your family.

Yep you guessed it. That’s Matthew in the pic getting attacked by an inflatable pool shark. As if that’s not on your list of plans this season? You should pencil that in and go have a looksie at the bucket list for more ideas. And for goodness sake, let me know what bucket-full of fun you have planned! I’d love to hear about it. The more ideas we can share, the merrier it shall be.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.

Well, hello there.

Hi! I'm Josie. This is where I share my passions for healthy living, natural health, fitness, and happiness. My goal is for you to be empowered and informed by what you read and learn here. I'm 44 years old and I love Jesus. I've been married to my husband for 13 years. I have 4 children (ages 24, 21, 12 and 8), and I'm also a grandmother to a sweet 2-year old little girl. I've lost over 40 pounds during my weight loss journey. I encourage you to stay empowered. Always keep your head up and stay strong! Meet Josie